April 2022

Friends, the gap between our unhoused neighbors and health services is vast.
This month, we’re highlighting how our Community Health Initiative is bridging that gap through:

Mobile Showers & Hygiene Response

• Our team brings free showers, hygiene supplies, clothing, and community support directly to our neighbors.

• Primarily led and operated by people who have experienced houselessness or employment barriers.

• Watch this video to learn more about this program.

Mobile Health Services

• Increasing healthcare access by bringing services, referrals, and education directly to our unhoused neighbors through volunteer healthcare professionals and students.

Outreach

• Providing supplies, resources, and referrals to unhoused neighbors.

• Building trust with unhoused communities in East County.

What’s been going on?

• We’ve doubled the frequency of our Mobile Shower & Hygiene Response,
  now bringing showers to seven sites per week!

• To support this growth, we’ve hired a Community Health Director and two new shower staff! 

• We received three brand-new AED’s thanks to the generosity of Quinn Driscoll Foundation.

• We’ve purchased shower and laundry trucks from Oregon Harbor of Hope,
  thanks to the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

• Nursing students from Concordia University St. Paul join us five days a week
  to provide critical services and referrals.

• While many services shut down during Portland’s historic April snowstorm, our Outreach and Community Health teams responded by going into the snow to be for and with the people.

A Story of Trust…

Trust is at the center of our Community Health Initiative. We believe in building safe relationships that lead to a stronger community and greater health outcomes. Watch Hannah, our Community Health Director, share a short story about mobility, kindness, and consistency.